A mobile machine is required to carry fuel in an amount related to its intended application. For example, in long-haul applications where refueling is not possible or practical, a particular machine should carry a large volume of fuel. In other applications, however, the same machine may consume less fuel and/or be able to refuel more frequently. In these latter applications, carrying the larger amount of fuel increases a weight of the machine and decreases a carrying capacity and/or efficiency of the machine. And an overweight machine may violate travel regulations.
Historically, mobile machines in diverse applications have been equipped with different fuel tanks that have specific volumes designed for the particular applications. This approach of equipping different machines with different fuel tanks, however, can be costly and problematic. In particular, this approach can drive the need to design, fabricate, and stock a range of different tanks. Different tooling may be required to fabricate each tank; and a large of amount of space may be required to store the tanks. In addition, when a particular machine is re-tasked from a short-haul or weight-restricted application to a long-haul or non-restricted application, the machine must be called out of service to have its fuel tank switched. This requirement can be costly and prone to error.
One attempt to address the above-described problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,954 (the '954 patent) that issued to Crawford et al. on Aug. 15, 2006. In particular, the '954 patent discloses a fuel tank configuration having a buoyant fill-limit valve disposed within a fuel tank and movable to open and close a vapor outlet. When the vapor outlet is closed, a vapor pressure within the tank increases during filling, causing the fuel to rise in a fill spout of the tank. When the fuel level rises far enough up the fill spout, the fuel wets a sensor, causing a fill nozzle to shut off at a maximum fuel level of the tank. The maximum fuel level of the tank can be varied by rotating a fill limit adjuster, which lets fuel come into contact with the fill-limit valve at different fill levels. The fill limit adjuster is set during manufacture and welded in a fixed position to permanently secure the maximum fuel level of the tank.
Although the fuel tank configuration of the '954 patent may successfully vary a capacity of a fuel tank, it may still be problematic. Specifically, it may only function correctly when used with a fuel nozzle having a sensor. In addition, because the maximum fill limit is permanently set during manufacture of the tank, a machine equipped with the tank may be limited in its application. Further, the way in which the fill limit adjuster is set may be prone to error.
The disclosed fluid tank assembly is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.